If you’re in crypto, whether as a founder, recruiter, or security pro, you’re already in their sights. But there’s good news: by strengthening cybersecurity teams and tightening hiring processes, we can make it a whole lot harder for them to succeed.
The Lazarus Group Playbook: More Than Just Phishing
North Korea’s most notorious cyber outfit, the Lazarus Group, has stolen billions from crypto projects. Their approach isn’t just about brute force hacks; they’ve mastered the long game.
Take Axie Infinity’s Ronin Bridge hack in 2022—$625 million vanished. How? A North Korean hacker infiltrated the company by posing as a top-tier engineer, securing a job, and then injecting malware. By the time the breach was discovered, the funds were gone.
Another classic move? Fake LinkedIn job offers. Engineers and executives get approached by “recruiters” from seemingly reputable companies. A few email exchanges later, they’re downloading a “test assignment” that turns out to be malware.
What does this mean for your team? You can’t just worry about external threats—sometimes, the attack vector is sitting right in your Slack channels.
Bulletproofing Crypto Recruitment: What Works
Over the past few years, I’ve seen first-hand how easy it is for a bad hire to slip through the cracks. Here’s what’s made a difference when building secure crypto teams:
1. Vet Candidates Like Your Treasury Depends on It (Because It Does)
A solid LinkedIn profile and a great GitHub repo aren’t enough. You need layered verification:
- Video Calls: Always do at least one live interview with cameras on. Sounds basic, but you’d be shocked how many projects skip this.
- Work History Cross-Checks: Verify past employment directly with listed companies—don’t rely on LinkedIn endorsements.
- Code Reviews in Secure Environments: If someone’s asked to complete a coding test, run it through a secure, sandboxed system. No outside files. No downloads.
I once saw a candidate with an incredible Solidity portfolio get flagged during a deeper background check. Turns out, they had worked on a “DeFi project” that got drained in a rug pull. Dodged a bullet.
2. Lock Down Your Internal Systems
It’s not just about who you hire, but how much access they get. Crypto firms need to think like security-first enterprises:
- Limit Permissions: Developers don’t need access to the full codebase from day one. Use role-based access control (RBAC).
- Endpoint Security: Every device that connects to your network should be secured—this includes enforcing multi-factor authentication (MFA).
- Zero-Trust Hiring: New employees should prove themselves over time before gaining access to sensitive areas like smart contract deployment keys.
Think of it like a bank—you don’t give the new teller the vault keys on their first day.
3. Train Teams to Spot the Red Flags
Most North Korean crypto hacks succeed because someone inside a company falls for social engineering. Whether it’s a fake recruiter, a phishing email, or a dodgy file download, human error is the weakest link.
The best teams train like they expect to be targeted:
- Simulated Phishing Attacks: Test your employees with fake phishing attempts. If they fail, turn it into a learning opportunity.
- Security-First Culture: Encourage people to report anything that feels even slightly off—an email, a DM, a job offer.
- Regular Security Refreshers: The attack landscape changes fast. Keep training updated to reflect new tactics.
One of my clients started running quarterly security drills, and the results were night and day. People got savvier, stopped trusting every “urgent” email, and started flagging suspicious activity early.
The Crypto Security Landscape Is Changing—Are You?
North Korea’s crypto hacks aren’t slowing down. In fact, they’re evolving. Just last year, new reports showed that the Pyongyang-backed threat actors had pivoted to DeFi, targeting cross-chain bridges and liquidity pools.
The reality is, if you’re in this space, you’re either actively protecting your project or you’re a target. There’s no middle ground.
But the good news? The industry is wising up. Better hiring processes, stronger internal security, and a culture of vigilance are already making an impact. The firms that survive and thrive in this space will be the ones that treat cybersecurity as a core business function, not an afterthought.
So, if you’re hiring in crypto, ask yourself: Are you building a team—or leaving the door open for North Korea’s next big score?
